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Artigas — Turin Designs
Published: 2014-07-13 19:31:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 5528; Favourites: 62; Downloads: 43
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Description
Some of the visual notes that I made as I was creating my Turin design.
Some of it was taken from reference, but the vast majority are derivations and original designs, that are still evolving into something new.
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Comments: 4
That mean a lot coming from you! Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
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I think the thing with Turin is that the image of him shifts so much with his changing identities- he's not like Tuor whose identity really becomes set in stone once he finds the armour left in Vinyamar. Turin seems to want to be a master of disguise hiding his true identity from his enemies but at the same time is, by virtue of his restlessness and ego, incapable of truly transforming himself. When designing Turin you have to pick him at a moment in time- most traditionally when he's leading the outlaws from Amon Rudh or the elves from Nargothrond as Mormegil and create a snapshot of him. Certainly Mormegil was one of his more stable identities and represents Turin doing what he does best- using his strength of personality and considerable talent at war to strike against Morgoth's forces. At that point I do imagine him cutting quite a trim but imposing figure, in keeping with his elven compatriots. The main image of Turin in this I see more as when he's leading the outlaws and actually prior to when he obtained his iconic black sword- here he's a bit more rough around the edges, broad and brawny to show he won and keeps his position by strength of arm.
The version of the dragon helm drawn here certainly fits that image- there's something almost Heraclean about his big (metallic) fuzzy face, but I think to make it stand out among other dwarven masks and to broaden its aesthetic versatility you should be looking at something a bit more stylised and gaunt- King Miraz from the Narnia films comes to mind, but that's only one interpretation and probably not the best (i'd have to do a more comprehensive search). Given that the helm is one of the big pieces of the first age and takes on meaning in many different cultures (being most closely associated with the house of Hador, perhaps moreso than even it's dwarvish origin) you don't want to make it seem like just a dwarven helmet plopped on a human (or even an Elf- didn't Maedhros own it at one point?) but perhaps make it alien even to the culture it was made by- an anomaly or curiosity while still retaining certain dwarven hallmarks.
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Thanks for your thoughts Hugh!
I agree with you, Turin is a chameleon, and this is the main reason why he is such an interesting character. He is very human, very flawed and full of life.
This portrait here is of course from the time he was the leader of the bandits, my bad was to portrait him with Gurthang. I'm preparing another concept to fix that.
Your point about the helmet being too much dwarfish was already brought up and defended by many people here in DA. It seems it is a very popular point of view. But to me, I see it differently. I understand that this helmet was made for and used by Azaghâl, as a practical piece of armor, and besides, it is a masterpiece of the great master Telchar, so I imagine no one would be so bold as to alter it later. The piece had historical value and lineage. So in my view it is clearly a dwarven item that will probably remain unaltered by its later owners. If the helmet do not fit someone perfectly, this person will just put it aside instead of modifying the piece. This was done by Hurin for example. He rarely worn the helm.
Anyways, the idea of a dwarven made mask that was not intended for dwarves is popular too, so I am working on something like this right now. Stay tuned, your opinion will be valuable in the future if you'll be so nice to drop by again in the future.
Thanks again.
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